By My Side
by GoofyGomez
Summary: Twenty-eight years after the apocalypse started, Manuel Zubair is questioning his relationship with a certain freckled girl. This is a sequel to my story Hope, starting off around 11 years after the last scene of my series.
1. Chapter 1

"Hope, slow down!"

Manuel's yell rang through the forest, his legs carrying him forward as fast as they could. Hope, however, was faster than his friend and carried on without a backward glance. The morning sun shone over them, casting a golden hue on the autumn leaves. Chirping birds welcomed the chilly morning, singing from atop the trees. Manuel spotted Hope vaulting over a fallen trunk and rolled his eyes.

"Where are we even going?" he asked for the tenth time that morning.

"You gotta trust me, Manuel," she called back to him, her curls flying in the wind as she zoomed past one of the trees his father had marked to indicate the end of their territory. "I promise I won't get you killed… maybe."

"Ugh, alright," he conceded, vaulting over the trunk. "Can't you at least slow down a little?"

As per his request, Hope slowed down and kept pace with Manuel. The two of them had been inseparable since, well, forever. She was two years older than him, but the lack of kids around had made it easy for them to become fast friends.

Manuel Zubair was the son of Ruby and Aasim. At seven years old, he was a tall, lanky boy with straight auburn hair. His brown eyes scanned the tree line for threats, finding none for the entirety of the trip. His best friend, Hope Leslie Everett, was Clem and Louis's daughter. She had curly brown hair, which was now pulled back in a ponytail much like her mother's. Her eyes were a deep hazel and she had inherited Louis's freckles, which ran all the way from her cheeks to her collarbone.

That day, Hope had opted for a pair of jeans and a small, navy blue shirt with an L knitted onto it. It was cute, she had claimed proudly before leading Manuel outside their parents' line of sight and dragging him to their secret exit to the outside.

Despite their parents' greatest efforts to keep them safe behind the school's walls, the two friends had found a way to sneak out every few nights. One time, AJ had caught them in the act, and they'd begged him not to tell their parents. Although he promised he wouldn't say anything, he pleaded they be extra careful out there, and they were. They would explore the woods, making note of the different types of trees as Manuel told Hope what their name, both scientific and colloquial, was.

Manuel knew a lot about everything; one of the perks of having a library all to yourself and all the time in the world to kill. His dad would often quiz him on different topics he'd read up on the night before. Hope, on the other hand, was a more hands-on type of learner. She liked to explore the world and have adventures. Of course, until she was deemed old enough by her mom, she'd have to settle for imaginary adventures with her best friend.

Thirty minutes had passed since they'd last spoken, and Manuel was starting to realize that they were heading down a path they had never gone through before. The terrain around him was foreign to him; even the air seemed to smell different. He turned to Hope and opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"I know we're outside the usual zone," she told him, reading him like one of his books. "I just want to show you something my dad showed me a couple of weeks ago."

"Does it involve a prank of some sort?" he asked warily. He was all too aware of his godfather's tendency for jokes

"I promise dad's not going to jump out from behind a tree," she said, crossing her heart. It was a thing her father had taught her and that she'd shown Manuel. Apparently, it meant 'I promise'. "It's just us today."

"Okay," he muttered, not altogether convinced.

They kept walking for the better part of half an hour. The sun loomed over them like a giant blazing eye in the sky, watching their every move. Manuel had a feeling they were not supposed to be here, but he trusted his best friend completely. At one point, Hope raised an arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"We're here," she whispered, as though she were sneaking into a raider camp full of armed guards. Knowing Hope, he wouldn't put it past her.

They weaved through a garden of tall grass, slapping their arms as mosquitoes flew around them. When they finally got to the other side, Manuel's eyes went wide as plates. It was a fishing hut, complete with a small dock and a rowboat tied to it. The roof of the hut itself had collapsed on itself many years ago, and the windows were cracked, boarded up long ago.

There was a narrow gravel path that lead to the dock, where the boat swayed gently with the ripples of the otherwise calm waters. They walked down it slowly, taking in the scenery before them. A soft breeze had begun blowing from the east, making Hope shiver. Manuel looked to his left and pursed his lips. He shrugged out of his leather jacket – a brown one his dad had found on a supply run – and draped it over Hope's shoulders.

She looked to her right with a frown, though her smile betrayed her eyes. She pulled the jacket closer to herself, nodding at Manuel.

"Always the gentleman," she teased. His parents had taught him to always take care of girls, especially his best friend, and he'd taken that advice to heart.

"You were cold, I wasn't," he said matter-of-factly, shrugging one shoulder.

"Uh huh," she smirked, stepping onto the dock. The wood creaked beneath the weight of their boots.

They got to the boat and stood silently looking at it, almost scared to get in. Manuel turned to Hope and raised a brow.

"So what is this place?" he asked.

"It's a fishing hut." Hope had a smirk on her face as Manuel rolled her eyes.

"Smartass."

"Sorry," she said, looking back at the boat. "My dad brought me here a few weeks ago. He said he and mom used to come here sometimes to have some time to themselves."

"I don't blame them," Manuel said, nodding. "That's like what we do."

"Exactly."

"This can be our secret spot when we go out at night," he said, snapping his fingers. "I don't think your parents are using it much anymore anyway."

The girl turned to her best friend, nodding slowly. She raised her pinky finger, another one of their parents' teachings. "Pinky promise?"

He curled his finger with hers, shaking it up and down.

"Promise."

Manuel sat at the southernmost table in the courtyard, remembering. The book he had been reading lay forgotten on the table. He didn't really understand why that particular memory, which had taken place at least eight years ago, had been plaguing his mind lately. Tonight, he was sitting by himself, waiting for dinner to be served. On the other side of the courtyard, Hope and AJ were sat at one of the tables, working on a drawing for Clem and Louis's room.

AJ had been a big brother to both Hope and him since they were born, helping them with anything they needed. Now, a man grown, he formed part of the school's leadership, alongside Manuel's parents. Through the years, people had trickled into their territory looking for a place to call home. As they were mostly struggling survivors with no more than a knife for protection, Aasim and Ruby gracefully allowed them into the community, extracting a promise to earn their keep.

Now, over twenty years after Clementine and AJ had arrived at the school, their numbers had risen to a whopping forty survivors. Despite this, Manuel's mind had recently been inhabited by a singular person: Hope Leslie Everett, daughter of Clem and Louis, the original leaders of their community. He didn't know why he was thinking so much about her, given that they'd been friends for as long as he could remember. Nothing had really changed recently, so why now?

Tonight, she was wearing Clem's old denim jacket over a white tank top. It was so simple, yet Manuel could scarcely find a flaw in her appearance. Her hair had seen drastic changes over the years. The right side of her head was covered in deep brown dreads, cascading down the side of her face. On the other side, curls framed the pretty smile she wore all the time. _A bit of both my parents, _Hope had told Manuel when he asked about her questionable hairdressing choice.

When she looked up from her drawing, the two best friends met gazes and Manuel looked away shyly. Why had he done that? It made no sense, yet at the same time, it made perfect sense. How that was possible, Manuel sure had no clue.

On the other side of the courtyard, Aasim and Louis sat opposite each other at one of the tables, working on the schedule for the coming week. While Aasim made a list of the necessary supplies, Louis doodled a few notes onto a music sheet.

"Are you even listening to me?" Aasim's annoyed voice broke through his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"I am," he said nonchalantly, looking up at the man. "You just said we need to send a supply group to that nearby town in search of rope and wire."

"You really have mastered the art of hearing without listening, haven't you?"

"I was always great," Louis replied, jabbing the pencil toward Aasim. "So, who is going on this group?"

"Hmm, let me see," he mumbled, checking his list on the paper. "Willy and AJ are going in with Tara, Mike, and Layla."

Louis nodded along. "I like it, that's a solid group. Add Clem on that, too. She hasn't been out in a while, and I know she misses doing those runs with AJ."

Aasim finished the list and set the paper aside. He rubbed his face, sighing heavily. It had been a tiring three weeks after the two new survivors joined the school. Tara and Mike, a couple of twenty-year-old twins that lost their parents in a herd, had promised to earn their keep in exchange for food and protection.

He looked over the courtyard behind Louis's back, scanning the area. Violet and Tenn stood watch at the watchtowers at either side of the gate, looking over the tree line. The sun had started to go down a half hour ago, the black starry sky replacing the orange blanket. The moon was half full tonight, seemingly glowing brighter than usual.

To their right, AJ was showing Hope a drawing he'd started a few weeks before. Clem and Louis's daughter had grown into a beautiful young woman, her freckled cheeks lighting up as she laughed at a joke AJ made. Aasim's eyes drifted over to the other side of the courtyard, where his son sat alone at one of the benches.

Something seemed off about Manuel, Aasim thought. He had a far-off look, a sloppy grin on his face, and the book on the table had been abandoned long ago. The man followed his son's gaze and smiled when his eyes landed right back on Hope.

"What're you looking at?" Louis's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Look at Manuel," he said, nodding his head toward his son. "Who's he staring at?"

Louis did as he was told and then turned back at Aasim, a confused look on his face. "What am I looking at?"

"He's staring at your daughter," Aasim said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And?"

"Don't you think it's a little similar to the way you used to stare at Clem when you thought none of us were looking?" he pointed out.

Louis took a minute to process what his friend had said, but realization dawned on him. "No," he whispered. "You don't think he has a crush on her, right?"

"I think he might."

Louis didn't say anything for a moment, looking down at the sheet of paper. He turned to the admin building and called Clementine over just as she was about to go inside. She came over to them, placing a kiss on Louis's lips.

"Hey babe," Louis said, smiling at her.

"Hey, you."

"Listen, you don't think Manuel could have a crush on our little sunshine, do you?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

Clem chuckled, sitting down beside her husband. "Of course he does."

Both Louis and Aasim looked shocked, their faces demanding an explanation. Clem rolled her eyes.

"He's been looking at her almost constantly for the past three months," she exclaimed, chancing a glance back at the boy. "He might as well have a neon sign over his head that says 'I love Hope Everett'."

"I think love's a little much, don't you think?" Louis stuttered, frowning.

"Honey, they've known each other for almost sixteen years," Clem pointed out. "We were together for about two months before you told me you loved me."

"That was different, I…" he trailed off, looking down at his hands.

"She's not your little girl anymore, Louis," Clem said, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "And you gotta admit, they would make a cute couple."

"She's right, man," Aasim put in, nodding.

Louis considered it for a moment, looking back and forth between his daughter and his godson. _Was this what being a parent boiled down to? _Heaving a sigh, he nodded.

"Alright, I guess he's a good kid," he mumbled, making Clem chuckle. "But they can't be a cuter couple than us."

"Of course, honey," Clem assured him, kissing the top of his head and winking at Aasim. With a wave towards Violet on the watchtower, Clem took her leave and entered the admin building.

The two men sat in silence, looking at the young teens. Maybe they would make a cute couple, Louis mused to himself. He and Aasim shared a knowing look and rose from the table, heading for the lone boy. Manuel looked up at them as they sat down at his table, Aasim beside him and Louis opposite him. The autumn breeze blew past them, making Manuel shiver in his short-sleeved t-shirt.

Aasim and Louis smiled at each other conspicuously, glancing at the teen, who frowned.

"What's… going on?" he asked, looking between his father and godfather.

"We were just chatting about you," Louis said, shrugging, "and a certain freckled girl with dreads and curly hair and golden eyes."

"What?" exclaimed Manuel, a slight blush running up his face.

"Way to be subtle," Aasim snapped at Louis, rolling his eyes. He turned to his son and sighed. "Manuel, we know you like Hope."

"No, I don't," Manuel said immediately, crossing his arms. "I don't have a crush on Hope."

Louis smiled, placing a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Little man, you've always been a lousy liar like your dad."G

"Hey!" said Manuel and Aasim at the same time.

"You can fool your old man, but you can't fool me."

Manuel's eyes darted between his father and Louis, his mind racing a thousand miles a second. Finally, he sighed dejectedly and nodded.

"Alright, yeah."

"It's okay, son," Aasim said, "We think you should go for it."

"Go for it?" the boy exclaimed. "Are you crazy, dad? She'll kill me in seconds."

"While I agree she could do that, being Clem's daughter," Aasim grimaced, remembering that time Clementine tackled him to the ground when he came up behind her, "she might feel the same way, who knows?"

"God will, when I meet him after I tell her how I feel," Manuel said, only half joking.

"Don't be so dramatic," Aasim said.

"Yeah, that's my job," Louis quipped, jabbing a finger on his chest. He tried to remain serious for a moment, looking Manuel dead in the eye. "Look, as Hope's father I only have one thing to say."

"Yes?" Manuel said, gulping.

"If you do anything to hurt her," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Though his eyes betrayed his cool demeanor, his nostrils still flared. "I'll kill you before even Clem or Hope herself can. Got it?"

Before Manuel could answer, Aasim guffawed and shook his head. "Louis, you're as menacing as a golden retriever, but I think my son got the message."

"I did."

"Good," Louis said simply, nodding. "Now go get her," he added in his usual carefree tone.

Manuel's eyes went wide as plates. "What, now?"

"Yes, now," Aasim said, going along with Louis for once. He pushed Manuel off the bench and towards Hope.

Manuel gulped and began walking, his eyes glued to AJ and Hope on the table by the bonfire. As he walked, his hands began sweating. He rubbed them on the side of his jeans, wondering why this was so much more difficult than facing a walker; or ten walkers for that matter. _Because this time, you have more of a chance of dying, _his mind kept telling him, but he pushed on.

Around him, several people milled about their evenings, waiting for Omar's gracious meal. Tonight, the menu was smoked salmon with a side of broccoli and potatoes. Their yield on the greenhouse this year had been quite good, and they were making the best of it by having slightly larger meals and stockpiling whatever was left for the coming winter.

When he got to the table, he stood motionless before them, looking for words. Hope was the first to notice him, looking up from the drawing. The dreads bobbed by her face, framing it perfectly. When he met her gaze, she smiled and raised both eyebrows.

"What's up, Manuel?" she said, her high, soft voice a welcome melody in the boy's ears.

AJ looked up and raised a brow at him. The man had been very reserved for some time after a girl he'd found during a supply run got bit in front of him. Not even Clementine could bring him out of his shell. The only person he really opened up to lately was Hope, who had a way to make the man smile despite anything.

"I was just, uh," stuttered Manuel, cringing at his own words. "Could I talk to Hope for a little while, AJ?"

"Of course, man," AJ said, nodding at him. He turned to the girl and smiled, "we'll continue this tomorrow, and I can show you how to shadow correctly. That was a tricky one for me."

"Okay, thanks, AJ," she said, placing a kiss on the man's cheek and bounced out of her seat.

She followed her friend to the edge of the courtyard, where the shadows cloaked their faces the most. When he struggled to find words, Hope smiled and punched him playfully on the arm.

"What's with all the secrecy," she said, imitating a scary voice Louis used to do whenever he told them stories about monsters and ghouls.

Finally, a brilliant idea went through his mind. It was so simple; he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. He took her hand, noticing just then how soft it was despite the calluses that had formed on them through the years. Without a word, he led her through the cemetery and towards the entrance to the greenhouse.

"We're going outside?" she asked, confusion clear in her face. Their secret exit to the outside was located just under a sheet metal on the south wall of the greenhouse. Somehow, they'd kept it a secret from everyone but AJ for almost ten years.

"You'll see," he said, his voice miraculously returned to his body.

They squeezed through the hole behind the sheet and began their trek up the woods. It was starting to get dark outside, but their eyes had gotten accustomed to being outside at night after so many years. Manuel walked a few paces ahead of Hope, retracing the path in his mind.

Their walk lasted over forty minutes, by which time Hope had already exhausted all the possible questions she could have done. Manuel was giving her nothing to work with, but the girl had complete trust in her best friend, so she followed him nonetheless. At one point, the boy stopped and dug into his back pocket.

"What're you doing?" asked Hope, raising an eyebrow.

"Put this on," he said, producing from his right pocket a cloth. "I want you to be surprised when we get there."

"You sure my dad is okay with us going on a scavenger hunt right before dinner?"

"Oh, I'm sure," he said, smirking. "He gave me permission."

"I find that hard to believe," she snorted, putting the blindfold over her hazel eyes. "I hate that I trust you enough to do this." All Manuel could do was chuckle.

"Okay, take my hand and walk with me," he said softly, guiding her over a fallen branch.

Above them, owls hooted almost solemnly. A cold autumn breeze reminded Manuel he hadn't brought a jacket, and he cursed himself under his breath. By the time they got there, his skin was crawling with goosebumps. They arrived at the yard full of tall grass, where Hope had taken him eight years ago. When they started to weave through it, Hope let out a soft laugh. Manuel didn't know if the goosebumps were from the cold or her laugh. _Maybe both._

"No peeking, remember?"

"I won't peek, I promise," she said, crossing her heart. "But try to keep the grass from hitting my face."

"That, I can't promise."

"Ass," she said, smirking.

After they got past the grass, Hope heard the gravel beneath her boots crunch. They walked forward about ten yards and Manuel made her stop.

"You can take it off now," he said, though he had a feeling she knew where they were.

Hope had the grace to gasp when she found herself in front of the fishing hut by the huge lake. The half moon was refracted in the water, the ripples caused by the wind distorting the image. Above them, the stars shone brightly, illuminating their path to the dock. The two teens walked over the gravel, its crunching the only sound between them.

In the water, the rowboat was gently rocking back and forth, swayed by the small waves. On the seats were two oars, their white paint finish all but gone after many years of decay. Manuel turned to Hope and offered her his hand, smiling as he looked into her golden eyes. Those eyes that seemed to hold the knowledge of the universe, yet the innocence of a child.

"Ready?"

The golden eyes widened. "We're actually going to go into this thing?" she asked, bewildered. In all their years sneaking into this place, they had never dared try to row the boat. It seemed almost sacred in a way, as though it were part of the environment.

"Yeah, I think it would be really cool," he said simply, shrugging one shoulder. Inside his pockets, his hands were still clammy, and he attempted to wipe them off again to no avail.

"You're not trying to trick me so you can push me into the water, are you?" she said, raising a cautionary fist, but Manuel only laughed.

"Nothing like that," he said, shaking his head. "I just wanted to talk to you, and this seemed to be appropriate."

"It's gotta be something important if you're having me go into this rickety thing," she muttered as she let Manuel help her onto the rowboat.

The teen got in after her and grabbed the oars, dipping their tips into the freezing water.

"You sure you know how to row a boat?" she asked, wonder in her voice.

"I've read books," he said; his official answer to anything new they tried in their lives. As Hope rolled her eyes, Manuel began rowing, and they were off into the night.

Around them, the world seemed to have come to a halt. On the other bank, the silhouettes of pine trees loomed over the water like sleeping giants, their tops swaying with the soft wind. The black water around them reflected the sky above them, a giant mirror that seemed to notice their presence as the boat created larger ripples and distorted the beautiful image on it. When he was satisfied with their position in the lake, he stopped rowing and set the oars down.

Under the starlight, Manuel looked at Hope. Her curls fell over the left side of her face, grazing her cheek ever so slightly. With curious eyes, she scanned the area, wary yet calm, tired yet alert, _simple yet beautiful_. Her freckled cheeks became flushed with the cold, but her smile never faltered.

"So," she said finally, pulling him from his thoughts. _Of course, the reality in front of him wasn't very far off his thoughts_. "What is this mystery talk you needed to have in a lake in the middle of the night in autumn." She emphasized the _autumn _part, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry about the cold," he began, offering her a lopsided grin by way of apology, "but I needed to do this now."

"Do what?"

"Hope," he said, his voice trembling, though the cold had left his body by now. His troubled thoughts seemed to have straightened out somehow, as if he'd done this a thousand times before. "I've been thinking a lot lately…"

"More than usual?" she teased, tapping his forehead. "Does this thing ever stop for a second?"

Manuel chuckled, closing his eyes as he lowered his head. His cheeks were burning, and his hands felt as though he had just dipped them into the lake. But his mind was cool, and his heart steady. He'd read dozens of books about young teens falling in love, but this was nothing like those authors described it. They all claimed you get butterflies in your stomach, but Manuel could swear his stomach had never felt emptier. And in the apocalypse, that was saying something.

"Not really," he admitted, giving half a shrug. "What I wanted to say was, I've been thinking more about you."

"About me?" she repeated, only half joking this time. _Maybe this is actually serious, _she thought.

"Yeah." Manuel sighed, willing his mouth to say the words he'd rehearsed a million times in his head. "You've always been my best friend in the world; my first friend, actually. You've been by my side since I was born, and now, I think – I think I like you as more than just my best friend."

Hope raised her brow, Manuel's words dawning on her. Still, she let him talk.

"I kept telling myself I was just being crazy, but then Louis and my dad saw me staring at you," he explained, pursing his lips. _Why did I say I was staring at her, _he chastised himself. "They convinced me to tell you how I felt. I needed you to know"

Hope stared blankly at the boy sitting across from her. The boy that had been her adventure companion her entire life. The boy who had been with her through thick and thin. The boy who was now confirming that she wasn't the only one with crazy stupid feelings. The golden-eyed girl had never been one to sit on the fence for long, and she wouldn't start now.

Following her instincts, Hope leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Manuel's, closing her eyes. It was a feeling like nothing she'd ever experienced before. He tasted sweet, like the chocolate she'd given him that morning. She felt his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently drawing circles on her temple as they kissed.

When they broke apart, it seemed a million years had passed, when in reality it had been about twenty seconds. They stared into each other's eyes, a pregnant silence lingering between them. Around them, the world was deathly still, as if nature itself were holding its breath for this moment and this moment alone.

"I – wow," was all Manuel could muster, a sloppy grin plastered on his face.

"I know," Hope replied, a similar grin on her lips.

"Wait, this means you have feelings for me, too?" Manuel asked, blinking as the realization hit him.

Smiling, Hope kissed him again, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt. "Does that answer your question?"

"I don't know, I'm still not quite sure," he teased, unable to wipe the smug grin off his face. In return, he received a light smack on the shoulder. "Ouch," he said dramatically.

"And I thought my dad was theatrical."

"Well, I learned from the best."

The silence returned to them, if only for a few seconds. Both teens savored the moment, basking in each other's company. Finally, it was Hope who broke that silence.

"I have to say, when you brought me here I was thinking you'd do one of two things:" she said, smirking. "Confess your undying love for me, or kill me way out into the forest so there would be no witnesses. I'm glad it was the former."

Manuel scratched his chin pensively, looking up at the moon. "Well, there goes the rest of my plan for the evening. I guess I'll have to find another night to kill you on."

The girl leaned in again, this time offering him only a peck on the lips. "You know I'd kill you sooner than you could, Zubair," she whispered into them, her golden eyes piercing his brown ones.

"You're on, Everett" he teased, closing the gap between them one last time. The rowboat rocked gently beneath them. To Manuel, the stars had never shone brighter.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Manuel woke up to the sun blazing in from the window, hitting him square in the face. He looked over to the bedside table, over which the clock read 8 o'clock. He rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying unsuccessfully to jumpstart his brain from its slumber. After a few tries, he decided a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, and lay back on the pillow, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk.

He'd had the most unusual dream, he thought. He remembered something about a rowboat, and somehow Hope had been involved. It felt like a distant memory now, the contents of their conversation blurry and faded, though something kept nagging at him. _Had it really been a dream?_

The memory of a flowery scent made its way to the front of his subconscious, bringing back more details of the night before. The starry sky, the ripples in the water, Hope's bright smile right after he'd…

Manuel shot straight up in his bed, hitting his head against one of the bars of the top bunk.

"Ouch," he yelped, rubbing his forehead. A loud snore to his left reminded him he was not alone.

AJ was fast asleep on the other bunk bed, on the other side of the room. Manuel and AJ had shared a room for as long as he could remember. Now, his mouth hung half open and a sliver of drool dripped down to the sheets as he slept soundly. In the interest of not waking him up, Manuel donned his jeans and boots, tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

When he turned around, his heart almost jumped from his chest, and it was everything he could do to stop himself from screaming. Hope was standing in front of him, fidgeting with her hands nervously, as though expecting something.

"Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack," Manuel said, catching his breath. "What are you doing here?"

Hope pursed her lips and gave the boy a half-smile. "Morning," she said. "I was hoping we could talk, and I know you usually wake up early to read."

"Yeah, that," Manuel stammered, trying to sound convincing. "Right, I guess we can talk before that, sure."

The two teenagers nodded slightly and began walking down the hallway. There was so much Manuel wanted to say right now, yet the words would not come. It was strange, he thought, to be left speechless by the very person who could get him to talk about anything in the world. They walked through the door that led to the courtyard into the chilly morning.

Outside, the world appeared to be still. The only people Manuel could see were Roy and Paul on the watchtower, both of whom waved and went back to their business. He led Hope to one of the tables and sat opposite her.

"So…" he said, unsure of himself.

"So," Hope said, with a little more confidence. "Last night was fun."

"It was," Manuel said. "So what happens next? Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Hope shrugged, leaning forward on the table and using her elbows for balance. "Is that what you want?"

"I think it is. I never considered the possibility that this would end in anything other than you killing me."

"Are you really that scared of me?" Hope said, chuckling.

Manuel trembled dramatically. "Terrified."

She leaned in again and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Good. So I guess that means we're a couple now."

"Sounds good," Manuel said awkwardly, grinning.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking anywhere but at each other. The trees beyond the walls of the school swayed with a gentle breeze, making the birds on the tops leave the relative safety of their nests. Manuel thought about the night before, how the moonlight had shone above them, illuminating Hope's eyes as bright as stars.

"There's the happy couple!" Louis's voice rang through the courtyard, bringing Manuel back to reality. Louis and Clementine were making their way to the pair of teenagers. Clem gave Manuel a half-smile and then turned to her daughter and winked.

"Um, hey dad," Hope said, raising an eyebrow. "Hi, mom."

"Hi, sweetie," Clem said, adjusting her hat on her head. Manuel had often stared at it in awe, wondering how many crazy adventures that hat had been through, and how it had survived for as long as it had.

"We were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by," Louis said as he and his wife sat on each side of the table, Clem beside Manuel and Louis beside his daughter.

Louis leaned forward on the table, much like Hope did when she was interested in the matter at hand. Manuel took note of that. "We didn't catch you last night after dinner," said Louis.

"Yeah, we weren't really hungry," Hope said nonchalantly, shrugging. Manuel wondered what it was like to be able to be so calm in such a situation. _Perhaps that's why she's a better survivalist than you, _his mind told him, and he had to concede the point to it.

"Where did you guys go, if you don't mind me asking?" Clem said in her most motherly voice. Despite her own reckless actions in the past, which Louis made a point of reminding her every now and then, she couldn't resist being overprotective over Hope and Manuel from time to time.

The teenagers exchanged a glance, during which they had one of their telepathic conversations. After years of sneaking out as children, which had eventually evolved into actual official supply runs for the school, the two of them had developed what they called an unnatural skill to sense what the other was thinking.

Manuel nodded, and Hope cleared her throat. "Ok, don't get angry…"

"That sounds like something I should get angry about," Clem said at once, raising an eyebrow.

"We went to that fishing hut dad showed me a few years ago," Hope explained, raising her hands as if in surrender. No matter how tough his best friend – or was she his girlfriend, now? – was, there was no arguing with Clementine Everett.

To the teenagers' surprise, Clem rounded on Louis with her eyebrows furrowed. "What fishing hut?"

"You know," Louis said, scratching the back of his neck. Manuel knew that even Clem's husband wasn't beneath being terrified of her. "Remember that shack I took you and AJ way back in the day, where I taught you to swim?"

"Dad taught you to swim?" Hope exclaimed, trying to rescue him.

"It was a long time ago," Clem said, nodding. "About a year after I arrived here, 20 years ago, I mentioned to Louis that I'd never really learned how to swim properly…"

"So, being the gentleman I am," Louis said pompously, grabbing the edges of his trench coat with his trademark smile, "I took Clem and AJ out into the forest and taught them myself."

"Like you taught us?" Manuel said, speaking for the first time since Clem and Louis had arrived.

"Yep," said Louis. He then turned to his wife. "A few years ago, after she'd had a nightmare, I took her there. I didn't wanna wake you up since you had been under the weather, so I took her on a nighttime trek."

"But-"

"Don't worry, we didn't run into any trouble," Louis cut her off, smiling. "I showed her the hut and told her about the time I found AJ there while she was being born. I should have known she would show it to Manuel here eventually."

"Only took her two weeks to show me," Manuel said, smirking at Hope, who kicked him beneath the table.

"Snitch."

"Okay," Clem said, nodding. "You guys are growing up, and I respect that, you know I do."

The kids nodded their approval and waited for her to continue.

"And I don't mind if you need to blow off some steam every now and then," she said. "God knows we did as kids. Just promise me that whenever you go traipsing through the forest, you'll tell either us or Aasim and Ruby, got it?"

"Promise," Manuel said. Hope crossed her heart, smiling up at her mother, who returned the gesture.

"Now, as much as I trust you guys, I'm gonna have to punish you for sneaking out," Clem said, pursing her lips.

Both Manuel and Hope stared at her and then at Louis, who raised his hands. "Hey, I'm with her," he defended himself. "You did sneak out. Something could have happened."

"Yeah, but nothing did," Hope said.

"Still," Clem cut her off. "I wouldn't like to encourage that behavior. I heard Aasim talking about the horse enclosures last night. He said they were getting dirty."

"Come on, mom," Hope protested, pouting. "Are you serious?"

"I am, Leslie," her mother said sternly. Hope cringed, knowing too well Clem only called her Leslie when she was angry.

"I'm not mad, guys," Clem said, almost contradictorily. "You were gonna have to do it at some point in the week anyway, why not today?"

Manuel and Hope exchanged a glance and sighed. "Alright, I guess," they said together, almost in unison.

"Ugh, I hate it when they do that," Louis said to Clem. Hope and Manuel snickered. It was then that the foursome realized more and more people were waking up and going about their daily lives.

Over the years, Aasim and Ruby had developed a system where at least half of the people living there had to have at least one assignment every day to keep things running smoothly. Most of those assignments involved tasks ranging from taking inventory of their supplies to going on runs into nearby cities in search of more.

"Hold on, have you guys told AJ yet?" Clem said.

"I haven't, actually," Manuel said, making a show of gulping. "I was hoping to keep all my limbs until I'm at least 20."

"My god, it's like you're trying to take my spot as the drama king," Louis said. "I'm sure AJ will take it well."

Hope leaned forward and placed a hand on Manuel's, smiling. "We'll tell him together before we clean up the stables, alright?"

"I guess," Manuel said dejectedly. Slowly, he and Hope got up and wandered towards the school, searching for AJ. After they'd gone in, Louis turned to Clem and smiled.

"Ah, young love…"

Inside, Hope and Manuel made their way through the hallway, greeting the twin siblings on the way. The walls on either side were covered in markings, most of which had been carved by the original troubled youth. Manuel's father had told him stories of some of those kids, most of which seemed to have tried to make their lives here a little less miserable. That was something he could relate to…

Standing outside AJ's room, the couple took a second before Hope knocked softly. She stepped back and waited for a response. Meanwhile, Manuel's attention was grabbed by the markings on the doorframe. One of the phrases read _People are scary, monsters are predictable. _Before he could ponder on the meaning of the phrase, the door swung open.

AJ stood on the frame, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. He wore a brown jacket over a white t-shirt. His jeans were ripped at the knees, and his boots were duct-taped together. His hair was sticking out every which way.

"Yeah?" he said groggily, blinking rapidly. "I thought I didn't have any chores today, it's my day off."

"We know," Hope said sweetly, pursing her lips. "We wanted to talk to you, do you mind?"

AJ studied their faces for a second, taking in their apprehensive expressions. Raising an eyebrow, he stepped to the side silently, letting them through. Hope walked in first, Manuel on her tail. AJ closed the door behind them and followed them to the other side of the room. The couple sat down on Manuel's bed, being mindful to leave a gap between them.

"Alright, what's this about?" AJ said, leaning back on his elbows.

"Well," Manuel said, not altogether convinced of his own tone of voice. He looked to his girlfriend for assistance, and she nodded.

"Something happened last night, and we wanted you to hear it from us," she said. "Manuel and I kissed last night."

She went silent after that, gauging AJ's reaction. The man, for what it was worth, did not get angry at all. He looked surprised, though, with AJ, Manuel could barely tell. He looked from one teenager to the other, a small smirk on his face. Somehow, Manuel thought this was more terrifying than if he had jumped out at him.

"Well, finally!" AJ exclaimed, clapping his hands. "I was wondering when you guys were gonna get together."

Hope and Manuel exchanged bewildered looks and then looked back at AJ. "How come everyone knew about us even before we did?" Hope said.

"Because you guys are so obvious, it's annoying," said AJ, rolling his eyes. "You guys have been so awkward around each other for months now; it's a mystery you guys took this long to figure it out."

"Geez, way to lay it on thick…" Manuel said in an undertone.

"But seriously, I'm happy for you guys," AJ said, nodding. "Just know, that if you hurt her-"

"Yeah, yeah," Manuel cut him off. "You'll sprain my ankles and stuff."

"I was gonna say I'll kill you, but spraining your ankles sounds nice too. Thanks for the suggestion," AJ said, winking at Hope. "That all you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, mom grounded us for sneaking out," Hope said, sighing. "We gotta clean up the stables."

AJ scrunched up his nose, shaking his head. "Well at least you'll get to see Bailey; you haven't ridden her in a while."

Hope's face lit up in that same way that made Manuel's stomach do twenty summersaults, the prospect of their day once again lifting her spirits. She and Manuel said goodbye to AJ, who lay back on his bed, and walked out of the room. More and more people had started to wander out of their rooms and out into the day.

As they walked through the small crowd, Hope and Manuel shared a small look and smiled. He noticed how her cheeks puffed out and small dimples formed on the edges of her lips. That small glint in her eyes was enough to make him smile even more, and he instinctively reached for her hand.

After a second, he realized what he'd done and cringed away awkwardly. Hope chuckled softly and shook her head, taking his hand herself and intertwining their fingers. Somehow, it felt as though they'd been together their whole lives. _Could that be possible? _Manuel thought, and eventually decided he didn't need an answer. Hope was the best answer he could wish for.

They made their way through the courtyard, waving at Aasim when they spotted him coming out of the admin building. Through what had once been the cemetery, they walked to the stables, which were located on the south border of the walls, a few yards away from their secret exit.

As the day was now in full swing, birds chirped overhead from the tops of the trees. The sun shone over them, providing what little warmth it could, though it was still quite chilly. As they opened the door to the stable, Manuel spotted a squirrel perched on one of the fence posts, alert. He broke apart from Hope and slowly walked toward it, his hand outstretched. Hope looked from the sidelines, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the right like she always did when Manuel found another interesting thing on one of their adventures.

"Hey there," he whispered, reaching for it as slowly as he could.

The squirrel noticed him standing there and stared down at him, its deep black eyes surveying him. Apparently, it seemed to deem him uninteresting, for the squirrel made a small squeaking sound and scurried off the post and onto the floor, hurrying to the small hole it had probably crawled in from.

"You're a natural," Hope said, chuckling.

"Shut up," he said, trying not to smile himself. "Let's go clean the stable, I guess."

The stable itself was a large pen made up of a large fence and a few traps Willy had designed lining the edges that led to the outside. Inside the pen, they had five horses and a foal.

Bailey, Hope's favorite, was a chestnut brown male horse with a dark brown mane. From a young age, Ruby had taught her and Manuel to ride, and Hope had taken a great liking to their youngest adult horse. Hope immediately went to the horse and pet him.

"Hey Bailey, I've missed you," she said softly, closing her eyes as the horse brought his face closer to her and inspected her. "Has Mike been treating you well?"

As if in response, Bailey neighed loudly, nodding his head. She stroked his neck, the feeling of warm skin against her calloused fingers a welcome sensation. After a few moments, she heard Manuel clear his throat from her right and turned to him. He was holding a shovel in each hand.

"Alright, I'll help you, I guess," she joked, taking one of the shovels.

They began their labor by shoveling the manure, of which there was a surprising amount for only six horses, into a corner. About twenty minutes into their task, Hope's face was already covered in sweat. She brushed the left side of her hair out of her face, using one of her mother's hair ties to tie it up.

"Why don't you just ask your dad to make your entire hair into dreadlocks?" Manuel asked curiously, shoveling a rather large pile of manure into a corner.

Hope shrugged, doing the same. "I told you, Manuel. I like having half and half. A bit of-"

"A bit of both your parents, yeah," he cut her off, grinning. She pretended to pout and stuck out her tongue to him. "Doesn't it get annoying? For example, in this kind of situation."

"I'll admit, it's not so practical in this case," she conceded, rolling her eyes. "But still, I like it."

"Don't get me wrong, I think it looks awesome," he said, backtracking. _Keep it together, man, _he told himself. "You look, uh, nice…" he finished lamely.

"Nice save," she teased, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. She made a show of looking him up and down. "You look nice too."

"Thanks," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

They worked mostly silently for the better part of an hour, every now and then making comments on the horses. Aside from Bailey, there were two other males; King and Prince were father and son, their hair as black as the night sky. The rest, one of them gray, one ash and one of them white with brown patches which, according to Manuel, was called 'piebald'.

"Y'know what?" Hope said at one point, as they were finishing up with the manure. They had managed to finish the task in less than two hours, which they counted as an absolute win, since every second they spent in there, the smell became somehow more unbearable.

"What?"

"I'm glad you told me you liked me last night," she said, tucking a stray strand of curly hair behind her left ear. "I don't think I would have been brave enough."

"You're kidding?" Manuel said, almost incredulous. "You're like the bravest person I know."

"Really?" Hope said, only half-joking.

"Of course," he said, shaking his head. "You're… great."

Hope smiled and playfully pushed him. "Thanks, Manuel. You're great too."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, unspoken words floating between them. For a moment, they leaned in and Manuel closed his eyes. In a sudden flash of movement, however, Hope placed her hands on his chest. With a hard tug, she tripped him with her right foot, making him lose his balance and topple backward onto a pile of manure.

Unable to contain herself, Hope burst into laughter as Manuel made his best effort to get up. He looked up at her and rolled her eyes.

"Not fair," he said, trying his best to wipe manure from his hair. "You can't just kiss me and then tackle me."

"In my defense, I didn't kiss you," she said, raising her hands as if in surrender. "But you gotta admit, it was kinda funny."

"I'd describe it more as disgusting," he said, which only served to make Hope laugh even louder.

What she hadn't realized, Manuel thought, is that in her hubris she'd exposed herself to him. Manuel took the opportunity to kick her right leg and throw her off balance, making her trip onto the dusty and muddy floor.

"Oh, no, you didn't," she said, still giggling.

"You've met your match, Hope Everett," Manuel said, offering her hand to him. Some things, Manuel realized, would never change.


	3. Chapter 3

A full week had passed since Manuel and Hope had started dating, and news of it had spread around the community like wildfire. For some reason unbeknownst to Manuel, people getting into relationships were a huge deal around the school. People kept congratulating them when they ran into them. He didn't mind, though. All he cared about was that Hope was happy.

What Manuel liked about their relationship was that it barely even changed the dynamic the pair already had before. Nothing was made weird by their dating, as some of his teen novels had suggested would happen. They still wanted to do most of their chores together, though his father had suspiciously arranged for their daily tasks to be far apart from each other at almost every turn.

Today, however, it would be different. He and Hope had talked about it the night before, and they'd agreed that Hope would convince him to let them go out on a supply mission together. Currently, he was sitting on one of the benches with AJ, looking over the man's shoulder at his father, who was deep in conversation with Ruby.

On the other side of the courtyard, Hope's shift on the watchtower was about to end. To her right sat Jack, a fourteen-year-old boy whose mother has left him at the gates of the school at the age of seven, leaving a note in his pocket. It had simply read: _Please take care of my boy, I can't do it anymore._

He was a lanky kid with bright red hair and green eyes. He rarely spoke, unless it was to point out some random nature fact his father would tell him as a kid or talk to Aasim about supply runs. Hope could barely remember the last time she'd actually heard his voice if she was being honest.

"You okay, Jack?" she said suddenly, turning to her. They were leaning against the wall they'd built on the watchtower.

"Huh?" he stammered, his voice scratchy, as though he hadn't used it in a while. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Hey, I know we don't talk much," Hope said, rubbing her arm. "But I want you to know, I'm there if you ever wanna talk, okay?"

Jack shrugged, but he nodded nonetheless. With him, it was as good as Hope could ever expect, so she laid the topic to rest. It was then that her watch alarm beeped twice and she clapped her hands together.

"Shift's over," she said. With a nod, Jack followed her down the ladder and into the courtyard, where she called over Tara and Willy over. "Hey losers, tower's all yours," she exclaimed with a smile.

"Shut up," Willy said, punching her arm playfully as he and Tara made their way up.

Before she could even greet him, Jack had already disappeared out of sight. Pursing her lips, Hope paid no more mind to him and turned her attention to Aasim, who was still speaking to Ruby. She made her way over to them, looking to her left to Manuel, who was sitting with AJ. She winked at him before standing behind Aasim and tapping him on the shoulder.

Today, the man was sporting a half-beard he'd been trying to grow for the longest time. No matter how hard he tried, her father always teased Aasim that it looked just like a dead opossum had taken residence on his face. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Hope," he said.

"Hey, sug'," Ruby said warmly, smiling at the girl.

"Hi, guys," Hope replied. "I was wondering if I could speak to you privately, Aasim."

"Uh, sure," said Aasim, turning to his wife. "You mind giving us a sec, honey?"

Ruby nodded and stood on tiptoes to plant a small kiss on his cheek. Reflexively, Hope made a gagging sound, which made both adults chuckle.

"I figured you wouldn't mind seeing that," Aasim teased, crossing his arms as Ruby left and went into the admin building, "seeing as you're with my son."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Hope said, switching her weight from one leg to the other like she usually did when she was getting impatient.

"Oh?"

"I feel like you have been trying to keep Manuel and me apart for the past week," she explained. "Like you don't want us to hang out alone or something."

Aasim shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I mean," he said, "I figured you guys didn't need more distractions than you already have."

"You think we'd distract each other even more now that we're together than before?" Hope asked, incredulous. "Aasim, we're a good team, we're not gonna mess around."

Aasim looked apprehensive for a moment, silent. He looked down at the girl, whose fiery brown eyes shone with the same intensity of her mother's. His own eyes drifted upwards, over her shoulders and towards the table where his son sat with AJ, deep in conversation.

Sighing, Aasim nodded his head dejectedly. "As a rule, I try not to send couples together on runs," he began.

"But you let mom and dad go together," she interrupted. He cleared his throat.

"Nonetheless," he continued, shaking his head. "I guess I can make another exception for you guys. But please, tell me I can trust you with this, Hope."

"You got it, Aasim," she said, beaming, balancing on the balls of her feet.

"Okay," he said, rummaging in his pocket. "Here's the directions to a town your dad found while on a patrol of the border yesterday. It's on the edge of the safe zone, so I'm gonna need you to be very careful."

He handed her the piece of paper and she examined it for a moment. "That's like ten miles south."

"Yeah, which is why you're gonna need to take two horses," Aasim said, seeing her face light up again. "You'll get to ride Bailey again, I guess. Just promise you guys won't do anything stupid."

"Aasim, you and I both know we can't promise that," she teased, grinning. Aasim, however, didn't smile. His tone suddenly dropped a few decibels.

"Hope, I'm serious," he warned. "All we need is some non-perishables, preferably in cans."

"Non-perishables in cans, no stupid risks. Got it," she repeated, nodding.

"Good," Aasim said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Now go get my son and get going before I change my mind."

Nodding, Hope turned her back on Aasim and made her way through the courtyard toward Manuel. She got to the table, and before AJ could so much as say hello to her, she had already grabbed her boyfriend by the sleeve and was pulling him to the stables on the other side of the courtyard.

"Wait, what's happening?" he mumbled, though he wasn't showing much resistance. "What did my dad say?"

"We're going to a town my dad found," she explained, rummaging through a makeshift chest on the side of the stable and pulling out two woolen comforters, which they used as saddles. She threw one to Manuel, who caught it. "It's a long ride, so let's move it."

Following her command, he threw the comforter over Dawn, one of the female horses, and surrounded her belly with a strap to keep the comforter from going astray. She neighed but stood her ground as she let him mount her with some difficulty. To his right, Hope mounted Bailey with ease, jumping up with one leg and throwing it over his back.

"How do you make it look so easy?" Manuel asked, adjusting his makeshift seat from under him.

"Practice makes perfect, Manuel," Hope said, clicking her tongue. Almost instantly, Bailey neighed and walked backward as Hope tugged at her mane gently. She made him stand beside the gate as she untied the knot.

"Showoff," he said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go, lead the way."

With a hard kick to Bailey's belly, Hope charged forward out of the gate, Manuel hot at her heels. They raced into the forest, into their first adventure as a couple. Manuel had never felt freer. The cold morning air almost pierced through his skin, prickling his face in a way that made him shiver. Ahead of him, he saw Hope from behind, atop her trusty steed, the part of her hair that wasn't covered dreadlocks flying through the air behind her.

Today, she was wearing a thick brown leather jacket that fit her a little too tightly, which restricted her arm movements. Though she had complained about it, Clem had been adamant that she wear something against the bitter cold of late autumn. Beggars couldn't be choosers, she'd told her annoyed daughter.

As they trotted through a particularly treacherous part of the trail for the horses, Manuel's mind started to wander, as it often did these days, to Hope. The memory of that beautiful night barely a week ago flooded his mind. It had all seemed so perfect; too perfect. The way Hope had held his hand afterward, and the way her eyes had lit up when he said the words he'd rehearsed so much yet been almost unable to say.

"Manuel, Manuel!" Hope's voice broke through his thoughts and he blinked. He had barely noticed they'd gotten out of the forest by now, and were walking down a narrow road. A broken-down car stood on the side of the road, burnt to a crisp long ago.

He turned to the girl and blinked twice. "Yeah, I'm here," he said as if he'd just arrived.

"You're weird sometimes, you know that?" she commented, looking him up and down as they passed the car. "Ever think about all these cars lying around?" she asked, not necessarily at Manuel.

"What about them?" Manuel replied, studying the burned metal carcass.

With the windows shattered, Manuel could see into the car, where two corpses sat side by side at the back seats, the safety belts strapping them tightly to them. Their flash had long ago rotted or burned, and what remained of their bones was charred beyond recognition. It truly was a horrific sight.

"It's just interesting to think that people used to use these to move around," Hope said, shrugging. "Dad told me some people were rich enough to pay someone to drive for them."

"Why would they do that?" Manuel said. They had passed the car already and were approaching a ran-down gas station. "You wanna check the place out?" he added as an afterthought.

"Nah, we can hit it on the way back," she said, dismissing him with a lazy wave of her hand. "I think he said people were just lazy, so they just didn't care to drive themselves around."

"That's stupid," Manuel mused to himself. "I'd kill to drive one of those around the block."

"Yeah," Hope said wistfully.

They went silent for a while, looking around. The leaves on the trees and on the ground were a bright shade of orange. The early afternoon sun shone over them, casting a golden hue over the road. The only sound around them was the clop of the horses' hooves on the concrete. He saw Hope rummage in the bag strapped to her makeshift saddle and produce a piece of paper.

She examined it closely, turning it in her hand and looking up at the sun. Having made up her mind, she nodded and pocketed the paper again.

"We should be getting close," she told him.

"I thought it was only 15 miles," Manuel said. "We've been walking for at least 3 hours."

Hope shrugged. "My dad was never the best at directions."

"So how do you know we're close, then?"

"Because I know everything," she said matter-of-factly.

"C'mon," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm kidding. Look there," she said. Her finger was pointed at a large green sign off the side of the road, hanging lopsided from a post. On it, the white letters read 'Charleston – 5 miles'. She looked at Manuel with a smug smile and he scoffed.

They walked down the road for at least another half hour, by which time a large row of houses lining the beginning of a larger avenue had surrounded them. They were entering the outskirts of the town. The houses looked suburban, or at least that's what Manuel could tell from having looked at old pictures of suburban neighborhoods in the library books. They all sported brick shingles, and most if not all the windows were shattered and barricaded.

Some of the houses boasted messages on the walls that read things like 'Go away! Survivors inside!' or 'Trespassers will be shot on sight.' For their sake, he hoped all of them were currently uninhabited. Hope still led the way through the road, looking around in search for… something. He never could tell what her inquisitive eyes searched for in a new place, though he trusted her completely.

"These are probably long raided," she commented offhandedly, gesturing to the dilapidated houses to either side of them. "That one even has the front door wide open."

"Guess whoever was there left in a hurry."

"Or they were forced out…"

Trying not to think of the prospect of raiders in their vicinity, Manuel contented himself with pointing out to Hope all the different types of trees that grew on the front lawns. He could tell she didn't care, but he kept it up nonetheless, as it was a far better alternative to their other possible thoughts.

Hope stayed silent for a while, listening to Manuel drone about trees for the better part of half an hour, while she surveyed their surroundings. Her gaze briefly wandered over to Manuel, whose eyes were alight as he explained the subtle differences between two types of squirrels she had already forgotten the name of.

Although she would never admit it out loud, his nerdy passion for everything around him was one of the reasons she liked him so much. In their sixteen years as friends, many a night had been spent gazing up at the stars in awe, listening to her best friend point out the brightest constellations as if he hadn't pointed them out to her a thousand times before. She never minded, though. She just shut up and let him do his bit, because that was what seemed to bring him the most joy during those cold winter nights or scorching summer evenings.

As they entered a more urban part of the town, she pondered over her relationship with the boy to her right. She looked into his chocolaty eyes; the eyes in which she had always found comfort in her darkest times. She couldn't really describe her feelings toward him, other than using words she'd read in some magazine or book Manuel had so adamantly read to her in their youth.

It was a scary thought, she realized when her mind started wandering to a deeper place she had never dared venture. Unable to face that darkness at the moment, she blinked twice and brought herself back to reality. Around them, larger buildings had risen as if from nowhere, small stores lining most of the block.

"We should stop here," she said abruptly. "This area seems relatively better for the picking."

"Let's hope," Manuel said in an undertone.

"I always hope," said Hope, a smug grin on her face. "That's my name, remember?"

Manuel could do nothing more than sigh and get off his horse, patting the animal on the neck. Hope did the same, albeit with much more grace. Together, they tied the horses to a nearby pole and looked around. They were in what must have once been a busy intersection, as it was now littered with cars and motorcycles, most of their tires rotted off long ago.

"You check out that convenience store over there," she said, her voice commanding yet gentle. "See if they have any canned goods or anything that could be of help."

"Where will you go?" Manuel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll check out that Laundromat," she said, jabbing a finger behind her, where a large neon sign had once read '_Laundromat – Open 24 hours._'

"You really think you'll find something useful in a Laundromat?"

"You'd be surprised the shit people leave behind in the weirdest places." Hope reminded him, nodding. "We'll meet back here in twenty minutes. Holler if you need anything."

"You too," Manuel said, already turning to his task. For a second, he stopped and looked back. "Be careful, okay?"

Hope pursed her lips but nodded nonetheless, remembering the promise she'd made to Aasim. As her boyfriend bounded off to the convenience store, she turned to the Laundromat and sighed. _Here goes nothing, _she thought to herself.

The front of the store itself was made almost entirely of exposed brick. Though it had once been white, years of disrepair had rendered it a sad, almost lifeless gray. One of the windows, surprisingly, had remained almost intact, though she spotted a large hole on the far left.

She remembered the stories her mother had told her about the start of the apocalypse; the looting, the panic, the fear. It was strange for her to think of a world without walkers, where a kid could go for a walk in the forest without having to carry a weapon larger than themselves. Without giving into that line of thought, she pushed the door open and walked into the dim store.

Even though some afternoon light shone through the un-barricaded window, her eyes were still not accustomed to the dark. She squinted; trying to make out shapes and forms in the darkness. There were what appeared to be some shelves on one of the walls. In the middle of the large room were broken-down washing machines, thick layers of dust covering their surface.

She took a few tentative steps, her eyes getting more used to the dark, though her hands were still preemptively held out. The room around her was deathly still. Silent. The only sound that penetrated the peace seemed to come from somewhere in the back. Something, somewhere, was leaking water onto the hard floor; dripping softly downwards, so eerily regular it made Hope's arm hair stand out in alert.

She paid her body no mind and continued forward, careful not to bump her feet into any loose items on the floor.

"There's gotta be an office," she whispered to herself, her voice rippling through the silence like a bomb, possibly alerting whatever was lurking in the shadows. She drew her knife from her pocket and held it in front of her, her left hand poised for the attack should one come. Fortunately, it never did. Sighing softly, she pocketed it and kept going until she reached the back of the store and saw a large wooden door with a cracked window above her head level.

Below the window was a small sign that had once read 'Authorized personnel only' in bold red, but had since been painted over haphazardly. Below that, someone had written the words 'KEEP OUT' in what looked suspiciously like blood. She looked down at the handle and almost gasped. She realized then that what had been making the dripping sound was not water after all.

It was blood, dripping from the handle. It was fresh, almost shining in the soft sheen of the light streaming from the broken window. She backed away slowly, her lip trembling in terror. Her eyes looked around frantically, every tiny movement in the shadows a creeping monster ready to pounce.

As she backed away, her heel hit something hard. It was metal, and to her horror, it rolled away from her with a resounding clang that reverberated on the walls of the store. After that, everything happened in a flash of movement.

The silver surface of a blade broke through the shadows toward her. A hand and an arm were attached to the knife, a man coming out of the darkness into full view. He was a tall man, with a balding head and broken yellow teeth. His crooked smile did nothing for his appearance as he pointed the knife at Hope, whose voice seemed to have left her body.

"What do we have here?" the man croaked, his voice raspy and scratchy, as though he had been smoking daily for the past year. He looked old, in his mid-fifties, though Hope could hardly concentrate on his age. Her eyes were fixated on the knife in the man's hand, and she chastised herself for not having her own at the ready.

She tried to plead with the man, but it was no use. Her voice cracked as soon as she tried to utter the first word, and the world seemed to spin around her. Her stomach lurched as the man took a tentative step forward, twisting the knife in the air as if he were carving an animal. She stepped back, her feet almost too heavy to carry.

"What's the matta'? Cat got your tongue?" the man sneered, tilting his head to the side. "You're a pretty one, ain't you?"

"Please," she managed to let out at last, though her feeble attempt at mercy must have fallen on deaf ears.

Another step they took, and Hope's mind was racing a thousand miles a second. Thoughts of her parents crossed her mind, their faces and the sound of their voice. Would she truly never see them again after today? Was this how her adventures wound to a close?

Something, or someone, must have been listening to the questions that had invaded her mind, because not a second later, a loud crash sounded from outside and the door of the store behind her burst open. A shower of light flooded the room, and for a moment, the man had to shield his eyes. Hope saw her opportunity and lunged forward, grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the knife.

Though her grip was strong, the man's left arm flew at her throat with surprising strength and squeezed her neck tightly, unyielding. She choked for a moment, trying to remain relentless in her grip, but the man was determined and she had to let go of his arm. With certain agility, he spun her around and held the knife to her throat just as a figure appeared from the new source of the light.

"Hope?" Manuel exclaimed, alarm clear in his voice. Hope dared not speak but grunted in pain as the old man took hold of her left arm and tucked it behind her back in a lock. Manuel's eyes found the man and Hope on the far side of the store, what little light that seeped through the window casting elongated shadows of their form.

"HOPE!" he yelled, reaching for his knife at once and brandishing it. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!"

The man did nothing but snarl at him as if he were a feral dog. Hope could only see forward toward Manuel, whose face was contorted in a mixture of panic and rage. She tried fruitlessly to get out of the chokehold herself, but the blade was much too close to her throat for her to try any sudden movements. In essence, they were screwed.

"I said, get away from her," Manuel repeated, raising the knife so it was level with his face.

"Or what?" the man spat, a drizzle of saliva dripping onto Hope's shoulders, making her shudder. "You're gonna kill me, little boy?" he said in a mocking tone, pressing the knife ever so gently against her bare skin. A thin trickle of blood trailed down her neck and into her shirt, staining the white fabric.

"You bet your ass I'm gonna kill you," Manuel said, although he did not sound altogether convinced of it himself.

"Can you not read, boy?" the man snarled again, emphasizing the last word with venom in his voice. "Keep out means no poking your nose where it don't belong. That goes double for the missy."

"We didn't know anyone was living here," Manuel argued, taking a single step forward, which the man, fortunately, failed to notice. "We figured this town was abandoned just like the rest."

"Well, it ain't!" the man said. "You and your people have gotten into my business one too many times. Now, it's payback time."

The shaggy man raised the knife momentarily, seemingly savoring the moment. Hope and Manuel locked eyes and she blinked, hoping to convey everything she hadn't said into a single look. She saw him shake his head ever so slightly as his eyes shifted downwards. Her own hazel ones lit up in excitement, and she nodded. Another one of their crazy plans had just formed.

Before the blade could go down to deliver the fatal blow, Hope's foot went up from the ground and connected with the man's crotch, who staggered backward, freeing Hope. For a moment, she was too stunned to move, but Manuel's sudden shout brought her back to reality. She began running forward, but her right foot hit a large object obstructing the path and she fell hard on the floor. Before Manuel could advance to help her, the man had risen once again.

He bounded toward her with surprising speed and grabbed Hope by the left side of her head, the curls in her hair clutched between the man's fingers. His other hand reached down and seized her by the throat again, his deadly intent ever-present. She looked up in pain, seeing the bloodshot eyes of the deranged man whose face looked more animal than human. It was the first time she saw him fully in the light of day.

His bushy beard covered most of his face, his lips hidden behind the black hair. The skin around his eyes looked hollow and his cheeks were gaunt, as though he had barely eaten in the past month. As he raised his arm to plunge the knife into her heart, his mouth opened to reveal the yellowing teeth, rotten by the years.

Before he could attack, however, another figure lunged into the man's chest and threw him off of Hope. The man grunted in pain as he fought Manuel off. Manuel, however, had a knife of his own. As both men struggled against each other, Hope regained her composure, coughing as air returned to her lungs.

Manuel turned his head and looked at Hope with concern. "Hope, are you okay?" he shouted. His brief moment of distraction was everything the old man needed. With a swift motion, he slapped Manuel's knife off his hand and connected a hard punch on the boy's face, throwing him off balance. Now, the man hovered over Manuel menacingly, trying desperately to bury the knife in his chest. Having recovered slightly, Manuel was doing an admirable job of keeping him at bay, but the weight of the man was stronger.

Deflecting the blade from his heart, Manuel tried to hit the knife off but the man found a way to penetrate the boy's skin. The knife punctured Manuel's shirt and ripped through his abdomen. Half of the blade had gone through, and Manuel's scream of agony was enough to make Hope lurch.

Somehow, she found the strength to get up and look around. Manuel's knife was lying on the floor beside the two men, shining in the daylight. She grabbed it by the hilt and scrambled to her feet.

"Please, stop!" she yelled over Manuel's scream, to no avail. The man's laughter was loudest of all, maniacal and deranged. It resounded in Hope's skull like a ringing, making her shudder.

"STOP!" she yelled again. Her hands trembled and she raised the knife, blade pointing downward. When she could take it no more, she plunged it down into the man's back, who screamed in pain.

She kicked the man off Manuel and kneeled beside the boy, blood staining his shirt. Remembering Ruby's training, she applied pressure to Manuel's abdomen, wincing as the blood seeped through the shirt and onto her hands.

"You little bitch," she heard the man say, his face covered in sweat. Blood had stained his hidden lips and dripped onto his beard. "You've… ugh, killed me!"

"I'm sorry!" she cried, tears prickling her eyes. "I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah," the man said, almost dejectedly, as he lay back down on his back. It looked as though he had given up the fight. "Whatever lets you sleep at night, kid," he said softly, coughing up more blood onto his ripped shirt. She could hear both men's ragged breaths. After a few seconds, one of the breaths had stopped.

"Manuel, Manuel," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please stay with me. You gotta stay with me."

"Hope…" he breathed, raising his hand to her face. "You're okay."

Tears dripped from Hope's eyes, flowing down her cheeks. It was not often she allowed herself to cry, but she could not help it. She nodded softly and closed her eyes. "Please," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't leave me."


	4. Chapter 4

Night was falling fast, and the only sound Hope could hear was that of the horse's hooves against the pavement. She urged Bailey forward with her heels, desperate to keep pushing forward. The sun had set fifteen minutes ago, and the last vestiges of it still remained on the horizon, glowing feebly against the dark sky looming above.

Behind Hope, Manuel held onto her with all the strength he could muster. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his cheek pressed against her back. She couldn't hear much over the sound of rushing blood coursing through her head, she knew he was breathing heavily. As an extra precaution, she had used some rope to tie him to her in case his grip wavered.

They had been pelting down the road for well over an hour. Tall pines lined the road, dark against the starry night sky, watching over them like giants. She checked her watch and saw that it was 7:30 pm.

"Only a few ways to go, okay?" she said over her shoulder, trying her best to sound calm and failing spectacularly. "Don't worry; I'll get you to your mom in no time."

"I'm not worried," Manuel whispered, hugging her tighter for balance. "I trust you."

Somehow, the fact that he had said that made it all worse, and Hope could do nothing more than nod curtly and keep looking ahead. To Hope's surprise, Dawn had kept up with them on their left, keeping a small distance from them. The horses neighed back to one another every now and then, seemingly having a totally different conversation that had nothing to do with Manuel's injury.

They had entered the path into the forest. The ground beneath the horses' hooves was uneven and the tops of the trees were much too thick to let much moonlight seep through their branches. In other words, she would have to trust Bailey's instincts as they traversed the treacherous trail.

They were walking for the better part of an hour, during which Hope had to keep adjusting Manuel on his seat behind her. He had been going in and out of consciousness, which definitely wasn't a good sign.

"Come on, Manuel," she said once they had passed the thick of the trees. "Homestretch, okay?"

She got no response.

Urging Bailey forward, they walked into more familiar territory. _Finally, _she thought triumphantly, though her mind was not at ease quite yet. The walls of the school loomed over them, night completely upon them by now.

"AJ!" she yelled to the man at the watchtower. "Open the gate!"

"Hope?" AJ said back, keeping his voice much lower. "What happened? You should have been back an hour ago."

"Just open it, okay?" she commanded irritably, stopping by the gate as someone pulled it open. She guided Bailey and Dawn through the makeshift door. They walked in to gasps and stares. As they got to the middle of the courtyard, a shout coming from the admin building startled her.

"Manuel!" Aasim was running towards them, Clem and Ruby at his heels. When he got to Bailey's side, he put a hand on Hope's waist to help her down.

"No, wait," she said, shaking him off. She was doing her best to keep Manuel from falling off, so it was that much more difficult to undo the knot tying her to her boyfriend.

"What the fuck happened?" Clem said from Aasim's side, helping Manuel down. "You're covered in blood!"

"We ran into a crazy guy in an abandoned building," Hope said, shivering. As soon as her feet hit the ground, her legs gave way. She kneeled beside her mother, whose hand went to Hope's shoulder. More people

She covered her eyes with her hands, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"Louis!" Aasim yelled over the crowd that had formed. Almost at once, Louis emerged from the admin building, looking around. "Come help me with Manuel!"

"Coming," Louis said, nodding. He made his way through the courtyard and took hold of Manuel's legs. "On the count of three, okay?"

"One, two, three!" Aasim said as they picked his son up, who grunted in pain. "We're here, son. You're gonna be okay. Ruby, c'mere."

"It's okay, hun," Ruby said, placing a hand over the boy's forehead. "He's very hot," she told him.

As they went into the building, Hope was left in the middle of the courtyard with Clem, whose hand was still clutching the girl's shoulder. Hope's eyes followed the two men carrying the boy, her vision blurring as a fresh batch of tears filled her eyes. The people that had gathered around them, after making sure everything had gone back to normal, went back to their evening tasks. Unfortunately, it wasn't unusual for someone to come back in bad shape after something went wrong.

Hope looked up at her mother, who returned her look with a soft sympathetic smile. The girl stumbled up to her feet, using Clem for support, and steadied herself. Hope was painfully aware of the stares she was being subject to, yet they meant little to her as Manuel's life hung in the balance. Her hands shook with adrenaline and anticipation, as though she were trying to reach out to him through the space between them.

Somehow, she didn't hear when Clem asked her to follow her, but she didn't need to. Clem's hand on the small of her back guided her toward the admin building. Clementine was saying something to her left, but the words would not penetrate the ringing in Hope's ears as they neared the stairwell. She looked down at her feet, doing her best to focus on walking rather than the world around her.

The afternoon's events flew through Hope's mind in a blur. She tried to pinpoint the point everything had gone to shit, where a simple supply run had turned into a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She even tried pinching herself, but even that couldn't make it stop.

Clem and her daughter walked into the admin building, where Manuel's scream could be heard from the infirmary. After a moment, it died down, an eerie silence falling over them. Hope dared not speak and break it, but Clementine did.

"He's gonna be okay, honey," she said, leading her away from the music room and up the stairwell. "Ruby'll have him fixed up in no time. You'll see, he'll be back on his feet before you know it."

"But what if she can't?" Hope sobbed as they reached the final landing. "What if the knife got one of his organs and she can't reach it? Or what if he goes into shock? Or what if-?"

"Okay, Hope. Look at me and slow down," Clem cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders. She led her through the main office door and toward the couch, where Hope all but collapsed. "Manuel will be just fine. That wound didn't look so bad, alright? Remember dad's encounter with those Whisperers a few years back?"

Hope sniffled and nodded her head slightly. Louis had come back in the middle of the night, covered with walker guts from head to toe, and with a broken leg to seal the deal. "But that was different."

"Hope, listen to me," Clem said, kneeling in front of her. "Once Ruby has him patched up, she's gonna want to know what exactly happened out there. And honestly, so do I. So, I'm going to need you to try and remember as much as you can, okay?"

"I… I'll try," Hope said, her voice small. Clem reached out and placed a hand on her daughter's cheek.

"Hey, you're not in trouble, alright?" she said, nodding. "We just wanna know so we can help Manuel and you."

"Okay," Hope replied. Clem brought up a chair and sat beside Hope as the girl fidgeted with her hands. The room was dark at this hour. The moon bathing the floorboards through the window in a pearly white sheen was the only source of light. They waited for what seemed to Hope like an eternity, the minutes stretching to decades as the grandfather clock on the far side of the room struck nine.

Mother and daughter sat in silence, looking into each other's eyes, both the same shade of hazel. A few times, one of them would open their mouth to speak, but they would close it seconds later, unable to find words to fill the silence. The window that led to the balcony looking over the courtyard was wide open, letting in a gentle breeze.

About twenty minutes later, the double doors to the office burst open. Aasim and Louis walked in, their eyes adjusting to the dim light as they searched the room. When Louis found Hope, he rushed to the couch. He knelt beside her and held her in his arms, pressing her to him.

"You're okay," he said, out of breath. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hope said, trying to push her father off her. She didn't try too hard, however. She had to admit it felt nice. "What about Manuel? How is he?"

"He'll be fine," Aasim cut in, leaning against the doorframe. Clementine got up and walked over to the desk, which was filled to the brim with papers and maps from the outskirts of the safe zone. She brushed some of the debris from it and picked up a small candlestick, which had been stuck to a plate.

Using a match from a matchbox she kept in her back pocket, she lit it and let the warm, orange light fill up the room around them. The gray, gloomy atmosphere seemed to be kept at bay as the candlelight bathed the small group in a golden hue.

"Ruby says he'll have to take it easy for a few days," Aasim continued as the candlelight hit his face, shrouding the right side of it in darkness. "But other than that, he'll live. Thank god."

"Alright, Hope," Clem said softly, sitting back down on the chair beside her daughter. "Remember, you're not in trouble. Just take a breath and try to recall what happened. Okay, sweetie?"

"Yes, mom," Hope said, nodding slowly. "Okay, I'll try."

"Where exactly did you guys go?" Louis asked gently, in the same voice he used whenever he read stories to them as children; soft and mellow, almost a whisper.

"Aasim told me there was some city you found," Hope said calmly, keeping her breathing steady. If she was being honest, that was easier said than done, but she did her best to clear her thoughts. "We got into the central avenue and it looked abandoned. We split up to look for supplies and I went into this store."

"I was in there for a few minutes, and I ran into this… guy," she continued. She took a deep breath and looked up at her father, who nodded. "I was stupid and reckless and didn't call for Manuel right away. He had a knife on me and Manuel came in and saved me… and now…"

She trailed off, her hazel eyes blurring with fresh tears. Clementine leaned closer and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her toward her. The two men looked at each other and shared a concerned look. Aasim took a step forward and kneeled beside Clementine, placing a hand on Hope's knee.

"I know this is hard, Hope," he said, glancing over to her mother, "but do you remember anything else? Did the guy say where he was from? Was he part of a group or something?"

The girl sniffled again and shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "The place looked too small to have more than one person living there. He did mention something about someone getting into his business."

"He did?" Louis said, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't see him when I found that place."

"He looked pretty crazy, dad," Hope said. "I don't think he was right in the head."

"You'd be surprised," said Louis bitterly.

"Wait a minute," Clem cut in, speaking for the first time. "Is this guy… still with us?"

"No," Hope said simply. A harsh breeze blew through the window and she shivered. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I– I stabbed him, and I think he's… dead."

"Okay, good," said Louis. Neither he nor Hope wanted to dwell on the fact that it had been the first human she'd ever killed. She was thankful for that. "I guess he won't be bothering us when we go there next week."

"Why next week?" Aasim said, puzzled. "We should go tomorrow, in case he did have some friends."

"I trust my daughter," Louis said, more to Hope than to Aasim. "If she says he was alone, he was alone. This town can wait until Manuel is back in one piece."

Aasim seemed to consider this for a moment, scratching his chin. Apparently, he also trusted Hope, because he dropped it and nodded. He mumbled something about Manuel and stitches and wandered out of the room without a backward glance.

The room fell silent for a moment. Clementine and Louis shared a glance that Hope assumed was laced with a silent conversation. Much like she and Manuel, her parents had mastered the art of speaking without saying a single word. Hope simply looked at the door where Aasim had disappeared just seconds ago.

"Don't worry about Manuel," Louis said, catching her eye. "He's a tough kid. He'll recover in no time."

"I hope so," Hope said, suddenly very interested in the laces of her boots. Again, the silence was palpable. She was painfully aware that her parents were trying to look for words of comfort, but they could only squeeze her hand or her shoulder. She didn't mind, though. There was nothing they could say to make her feel better about this…

"It's my fault."

She didn't mean to say it out loud. She didn't even mean to think it. But it was the truth, and she knew it. Louis shook his head and kneeled in front of Clem and Hope, placing a hand on hers. Over the years, whenever Hope got upset about some meaningless thing, Louis would just sit beside her and wrap his large hands around her small ones. Even now, when she was nearly a grown woman, her hands were barely half the size of Louis's.

"Why do you think that?" he asked calmly, looking ever so slightly in Clem's direction and then again at Hope.

"He came to my aid when I got myself grabbed," Hope said, doing her best to steady her breathing. "I was cocky and thought I could take that place myself. I didn't follow protocol like you taught us."

"Hope," Louis said, and to Hope's surprise, he wore a smile. "I can't tell you how many times we got ourselves into situations we could have avoided if we'd been together at the time. Especially your mother."

Clementine hit him playfully on the shoulder but didn't correct him. She _was _a kind of daredevil when adventure was involved. A cold breeze blew through the window, making the drapes billow and the candlelight flicker.

"You take after your mom, Sunshine," he continued. "Neither of you can sit still for long. Even when she was pregnant with you, she still wanted to go to baseball practice with AJ and uncle Javi."

"Did not!" Clem exclaimed, crossing her arms. The smile that crept on her face betrayed her façade, however. They stared at her for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes. "Ok, maybe I did. You guys just seemed to be having a lot of fun."

"See what I mean?" said Louis. "It's not your fault, it just _happened_. Don't beat yourself up over things you can't control. Just try to be careful, and we know you'll be doing your very best."

Hope's eyes stayed on her shoes, though her brows knitted together in thought. She wanted to believe her father, she really did. There was just something nagging at her subconscious that couldn't seem to let her produce that smile Louis loved so much. Nevertheless, she made the effort to lift her head and look into her dad's eyes and nod slightly.

"I just… I need to see him," she said. Her voice was hoarse, as though she hadn't spoken for a week. Louis and Clementine shared another meaningful look and Clem pursed her lips.

"I think you should get some rest, honey," she said gently, knowing full well how combative Hope could get when she set her mind to something. "And Manuel needs to sleep as well. You guys had a very rough day."

To her surprise, Hope just sighed and closed her eyes dejectedly. She _was _tired. The grandfather clock in the corner struck nine-thirty, but for all she knew, it could have been three in the morning. Her legs still trembling, partly because of the cold and partly from exhaustion, Hope got up. Louis and Clem led her down the staircase and through the door that led to the courtyard.

The three of them walked to Hope's room in silence, Hope's mind still in the admin building and her boyfriend, now probably fast asleep after Ruby cleaned him up. Her father's words were still jumping around the jumble that was her thoughts. _"It's not your fault."_ She was starting to come to grips with the validity of his claim, but she dreaded what Manuel would think tomorrow once he woke up.

Would he be mad? Would he break up with her for letting him get hurt while she cried? Her mom had taught them all those defensive techniques as kids, but why had they suddenly failed her when they would have been most useful?

Somewhere along the way, Clem had left Louis and Hope alone, probably to go back and check on Aasim. Once outside Hope's door, Louis knelt in front of his daughter. Even on his knees, he was still almost level with her head. She truly had inherited her mom's height…

"Listen to me, Sunshine," he said. He took her hand in his and slowly drew small circles on it with his thumbs. She smiled. "I want you to get a good night's rest, okay? You had a rough day, but tomorrow is a new day. In a few days, Manuel will be up and at 'em playing ball with AJ, you just wait."

"I guess," she muttered, rubbing the side of her head covered in dreads. "Thanks, daddy."

"You got it, honey." He got up and kissed her forehead. Before he pulled away, she wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him in a bear hug.

"I love you too, Sunshine. Now go to bed, kiddo."

With that, he bounded off down the hallway, whistling a tune. Hope looked out the window in the hallway before opening the door to her room. The sky, so filled with bright stars, was clear as could be. Her room, which had once belonged to Clem when she'd first arrived at the school, was filled with an assortment of drawings she'd made with AJ or plants Manuel had told her looked pretty.

To her left was a moldy-looking bookcase. On one of the top shelves, she had haphazardly framed a drawing AJ had made of Clem, Louis, and herself about ten years ago. They stood in front of the swing Willy had concocted for her as a one-year birthday gift. It was her most prized possession. Her second most prized possession, as of that moment, was her bed. It was an assortment of sheets and blankets lay un-made over a rather thin mattress, yet it had never looked so enticing.

She plopped herself on it and sighed, feeling her eyelids growing heavier by the second. Even though her thoughts were mostly clouded by Manuel's fate, her exhaustion got the better of her, and, without having a chance to change her clothes, she drifted peacefully into a dreamless sleep.

The following morning – the following afternoon, rather – Hope made her way straight through the courtyard to the admin building without a second glance at the people milling about. The door to the main hall was wide open, as it usually was during the day. She ran past Violet as she was walking down the corridor that led from the music room, almost knocking her to her feet.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, Vi," Hope said, stopping in her tracks and extending a hand. "I didn't see you there."

"Don't worry about it," Violet said, her voice raspy. She had bags under her eyes, much like Hope though she herself had, and her blonde hair was matted with fresh dirt.

"What happened to you?" said the girl, momentarily forgetting why she was in such a hurry.

"You mean before you almost tackled me?" said Violet, her face inscrutable. Sometimes, Hope thought Violet liked making people feeling uncomfortable with her stone-cold stare. If she was being honest, it was probably true. "I'm kidding," the blonde said, betraying her stern visage with a smile.

"Oh, right," Hope chuckled awkwardly.

"I spent the morning digging up weeds with Ruby," Violet explained, sighing. "Ruby's fun to be around, but she's always one interesting plant away from going into a full rant about proper vegetable care."

"Yeah, Manuel's always going on about–." Suddenly, she stopped and remembered why she was running in the first place. "Manuel!" she exclaimed and bolted off up the wooden staircase.

"I'll see you around, then," Violet called out after her, the faintest hint of a smile on her face as she turned back to the door.

Once outside the infirmary's door, she stopped and knocked softly. She waited. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Time stretched forever as though being woven on a loom. After what seemed like an eternity, a woman of about fifty named Sofía stood in the doorway.

Sofía had offered her services as a nurse to Ruby as soon as she'd arrived at the school five years ago. Originally from Argentina, she had gotten caught in this whole mess when she'd come to the US for school. She had pale, long blonde hair, which was now pulled back in a ponytail. Her kind, almond-shaped eyes landed on Hope and softened.

"Oh, there you are," she said in a sweet tone. She stepped back to let Hope through, giving her a full view of the small room, which had once been an office for administrative work for the school. Now, it was equipped with two beds they'd dragged from one of the unused rooms, one of which was occupied by–

"MANUEL!" Hope practically shrieked, rushing to his side and kneeling beside his bed. His eyes lit up the second they landed on her and he let out a chuckle.

"There she is!" he said playfully. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"Never," Hope said, taking hold of his hand. "I thought you were gonna die, Manuel."

The boy grimaced, looking down at the spot where his injury was, now covered in heavy bandages.

"For a moment there, I thought so, too," he admitted. "But mom patched me up real nice and Sofía nursed me back to life with her magic."

"Don't be so dramatic, che," Sofía huffed, though her face showed a candid smile. "Just try to stay still and you'll heal in no time."

The teens smiled gratefully at the woman, who busied herself with a box of medical supplies. Hope looked back at the boy, whose face looked much better than it had last night when his skin had been nearly white due to blood loss.

The room itself had no windows, though it did have a few drawings of some of the kids living at the school, mostly for sick or injured patients as a sort of "Get well soon" card. The bed on the other side of the room was currently empty; the sheets neatly tucked on the underside, a stark contrast from the upturned sheets that barely covered Manuel's legs up to his waist.

Hope and Manuel stared at each other awkwardly. The initial joy of seeing the other had magically turned to an uncomfortable silence while both tried to search for words. Manuel opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Hope had always enjoyed the way his brow furrowed when he was in deep thought, but this time it was nothing short of painful.

How could she express how sorry she was? Even though her dad had somewhat convinced her she wasn't to blame, she still felt responsible. It felt as though a huge boulder was lodged on her shoulders, and the only way she could see to remove it was to speak.

"So," she started. _Amazing start, idiot, _she chastised herself. "Does… does it hurt?"

"Not anymore," he said, glancing down. His whole midriff was covered in bandages, which Hope thought maybe a little overkill, but she didn't voice it. "Now it's just more annoying than anything, but Sofía says I'll be out of here by tomorrow night."

She pursed her lips, trying to get the words out. They'd run through her mind all night, but the boulder on her shoulders was as much motivation as it was a hindrance.

"Manuel," she said but was cut off.

"Hope, don't," Manuel muttered. "Don't apologize, this was my decision. I chose to confront that maniac."

"But you were saving me."

"That's an added bonus," Manuel said, trying his best at delivering a Louis-approved smile. "If you wanna blame anyone, blame the crazy dude who was living off what I can only assume were rats and other small animals."

"I guess you're right," she said dejectedly, not really wanting to upset him but still pondering the whole situation. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm glad to be okay," he said lamely.

"Good, 'cause you did promise," she said, raising her pinky finger and smiling, "that you'd never leave me."

He produced a smile of his own, which was the easiest task he'd done all day, considering he had Hope to keep him company now. He lifted his right hand and intertwined his pinky with hers.

"And I intend to keep that promise, Everett."

"You better."


End file.
